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Cat-headed deity Bastet. In ancient Egypt, cats were represented in social and religious scenes dating as early as 1980 BC. [2] Several ancient Egyptian deities were depicted and sculptured with cat-like heads such as Mafdet, Bastet and Sekhmet, representing justice, fertility, and power, respectively. [3]
Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature, [11] but Aristotle does remark in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." [10]: 74 [11] The Greek essayist Plutarch linked cats with cleanliness, noting that unnatural odours could make them mad. [12] Pliny linked them with lust, [13] and Aesop with deviousness ...
The statue is a representation of the female cat deity Bastet. The cat wears jewellery and a protective Wadjet amulet. The earrings and nose ring on the statue may not have always belonged to the cat. [2] A scarab appears on the head and a winged scarab is shown on the chest. The statue is 42 cm high and 13 cm wide.
In ancient Egypt, cats were revered not only as pets and hunters, but also as divine beings. They were associated with Ra, the sun god, and his daughter Bastet, the goddess of fertility, home, joy ...
Bastet (Ancient Egyptian: bꜣstt), also known as Ubasti, [a] or Bubastis, [b] is a goddess of ancient Egyptian religion possibly of Nubian origin, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2890 BC). In ancient Greek religion, she was known as Ailuros (Koinē Greek: αἴλουρος, lit. 'cat').
Abyssinian cats resemble those depicted on ancient Egyptian tombs and other artwork, while a taxidermized exhibit of an identifiable Aby links back to India – the Indian Ocean coastline and ...
The cat was the sacred and peculiar animal of Bast, who is represented with the head of a cat or a lioness and frequently accompanies the deity Ptah in monumental inscriptions. The tombs at Bubastis were accordingly the principal depository in Egypt of the mummies of the cat. [15] [16]
The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat, by John Reinhard Weguelin (1886). Ancient Egyptian religion was characterized by polytheism, the worship of multiple deities. [4] Prior to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, there were a tremendous number of these deities, each patron of a different element of the natural world. [5]